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School is back in session, and people's schedules are getting back into the non-summer "routine." We've really run out of excuses why the pile isn't shrinking.

We've got a little bit of time left before the holiday season, and its onslaught of games. Let's make the most of this time!

Next month will be the last thread for 2011. A lot of people play the new games, travel, etc... so, we make the October thread last for 3 months and pick back up in January.

If you're interested, m0nk3yboy, has the 12 month pile plan thread over here.

A quick reminder, in order to be considered "Pile of Shame" the game needs to be at least three months old. Otherwise, it's just a new game you haven't gotten to playing yet.

Also, if you are curious about some of the previous threads, Pick's of the Pile, etc... Please go here and check out the Google doc I setup.

Let's get on to the games!

This month's Pick of the Pile is

[size=30][b]Vanquish

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"Vanquish takes place in the near future where planet Earth's human population has grown so rapidly that nations of people around the globe are fighting for the scarce available resources. The United States of America has attempted to alleviate its own energy problems by launching an O'Neill Cylinder space station harboring a solar energy-driven generator to provide them with an alternative source of fuel from the sun. However, the government of the Russian Federation on Earth has been overthrown in a coup d'état by ultra-nationalist forces calling themselves the Order of the Russian Star.

Russian forces capture this space station and divert its harvested solar energy into a blast wave that devastates San Francisco, aiming to force the U.S. into a total and unconditional surrender. The main antagonist, known as Victor Zaitsev, demands that the American government surrender or he will choose New York City as his next target.

The President of the United States of America, Elizabeth Winters, refuses to back down in the face of such a threat. Instead, she takes Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Burns, a decorated war veteran, and puts him in charge of a newly-commissioned task force called Bravo Company. This team consists of several space-faring special forces, veteran Marines, and the remnants of the defending U.S. forces on board the space station. On top of that, she also gives them the game's protagonist and playable character, Sam Gideon." (wikipedia.org)

ClockworkHouse: He means the comic The Dark Knight Returns, where Batman and Superman get in a fistfight over Gotham. Not The Dark Knight Rises, where Batman and a loudly farting orchestra get in a fistfight over your attention.

Zelda 2 is done! What a brilliant and brutal little gem that one is. If Majora's Mask weren't just the best damn thing ever, this would be my favorite Zelda game.

While I'm with you in liking this one more than most people, I have a hard time finding more joy from a Zelda game than A Link to the Past. My (not so) hidden shame being that I've never played Majora's Mask and have only barely touched Wind Waker.

I have a hard time finding more joy from a Zelda game than A Link to the Past.

My big secret is that I've never played A Link to the Past. I was a Genesis man, and I've just never gotten around to getting the game on Virtual Console or GBA. My hope is that the GBA port ends up as one of the 3DS ambassador games.

I have a hard time finding more joy from a Zelda game than A Link to the Past.

My big secret is that I've never played A Link to the Past. I was a Genesis man, and I've just never gotten around to getting the game on Virtual Console or GBA. My hope is that the GBA port ends up as one of the 3DS ambassador games.

I... who. are. you?
I've beaten that game every which way I could think of including breaking dungeon sequencing and minimum heart no death runs in a single sitting.

I have a hard time finding more joy from a Zelda game than A Link to the Past.

My big secret is that I've never played A Link to the Past. I was a Genesis man, and I've just never gotten around to getting the game on Virtual Console or GBA. My hope is that the GBA port ends up as one of the 3DS ambassador games.

I... who. are. you?
I've beaten that game every which way I could think of including breaking dungeon sequencing and minimum heart no death runs in a single sitting.

Seriously! It breaks my break to think that gamers out there never played the classic Zelda canon!

EDIT: I meant "breaks my brain"... evidently, it was broken by the time I was writing that sentence...

ClockworkHouse: He means the comic The Dark Knight Returns, where Batman and Superman get in a fistfight over Gotham. Not The Dark Knight Rises, where Batman and a loudly farting orchestra get in a fistfight over your attention.

And Fallout 3 is finally over for me. Having spent so much time with the side quests, etc., I was surprised at how the main story wrapped up fairly quickly for me. I think it's time for some shorter things before tackling anything longer than about 12 hours.

It's looking like Crysis 2 and Vanquish will roll into the 3 month end of year attempt.

ClockworkHouse: He means the comic The Dark Knight Returns, where Batman and Superman get in a fistfight over Gotham. Not The Dark Knight Rises, where Batman and a loudly farting orchestra get in a fistfight over your attention.

Faxanadu (NES) - September 1st
There is no way I would have ever beaten this without gamefaqs. There were numerous instances of unavoidable damage and even one spot about 30% into the game where it is possible to be unable to progress if the player does things out of order. Thankfully, in the age of the internet, passcodes can be looked up to skip past such a trouble spot.

I've seriously attempted to finish this four times and finally succeeded. My verdict: overrated.

Quake II Mission Pack: The Reckoning (PC) - September 9th - unannounced
Much harder than the original, but mostly not for the right reasons. Lots of shielded enemies and cheap enemy placement/hits.

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (NDS) - just now.
Beating this excellent portable RPG took me 62.5 hours. It is very charming, extremely meaty, and mostly old-school game that has me seriously planning to dive into post-main-story content.

Unfortunately, the quest system wasn't very good. Most quests were simply tedious and unfortunately necessary for unlocking other classes. I actually didn't even use any special classes to beat the game with, however. Additionally, of the three optional grotto dungeons I played, all were devoid of personality and repetitious, with the only highlights being their bosses. Furthermore, the item collection and grinding for the alchemy pot wasn't exactly exciting either, and would have been infuriating without a thick notepad and/or online faqs.

Despite all of this criticism, DQ IX still belongs in the upper echelons of jrpg's I've played, which speaks to the tremendous strength of its positive points' ability to overshadow the tedious and uninspired elements.

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Hope to finish off Quake II Mission Pack: Ground Zero (PC) by the end of the month. I might even manage another short game, but I'm not willing to commit to it yet.

I need to make some sort of pile award. I swear you clear the most games every month, without fail.

ClockworkHouse: He means the comic The Dark Knight Returns, where Batman and Superman get in a fistfight over Gotham. Not The Dark Knight Rises, where Batman and a loudly farting orchestra get in a fistfight over your attention.

Well, it would seem that the powers-that-be were against me this week. The power company decided to revamp all cabling in my neighborhood and therefore left me powerless for two days... Hence hardly any time to play. I will have to carry over all of the games unfinished as I won't have time to play neither tonight nor tomorrow night.

I need to make some sort of pile award. I swear you clear the most games every month, without fail. :)

I'm just trying to stay ahead of Clocky and a few others So far this month, Garden Ninja is in the lead with 5 down.

My 4th is Quake II Mission Pack: The Reckoning at around 5 hours.
Unless you really like Quake II's gameplay, this one should be skipped. It became even harder than the previous expansion because of nasty turret placement, often right above an entrance, so that the only way to learn of its presence was to get hit. Due to the frequency of such cheap turret placement, the pace in the latter half of the game can become quite slow and methodical - something which I really don't associate with the series, and it juxtaposes poorly with the speed of all other enemies. Also, the movement is too slippery, although this is true to the entire Quake II line. I found myself frequently slipping off of surfaces due to momentum. While the new guns and items (at least the ones I actually used) were good, most of the new enemies were simply irritating. Amusingly, several of the levels seem to bear little resemblance to their namesake.
It sounds like I'm really down on Ground Zero, and I do believe it has many issues, but the shooting action is still solid for a game its age, the variety in weapons is appreciated, and it even features a slight enemy AI upgrade. However, it's very easy to do better when searching for an old-school fps to play.

Ok, Gears fell tonight. I might be able to squeeze in some Crysis 2 tomorrow, but since I'm only half-way, I doubt I'll finish it.

ClockworkHouse: He means the comic The Dark Knight Returns, where Batman and Superman get in a fistfight over Gotham. Not The Dark Knight Rises, where Batman and a loudly farting orchestra get in a fistfight over your attention.